This invention relates to venting rooms having exhaust fans, and, more specifically, to an apparatus for receiving and containing the exhaust and directing it out through the roof of a building using existing ventilation structures. The invention is related to the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,972, which issued to William D. Folsom, the inventor of the invention disclosed herein.
In building structures, it is well known that rooms, particularly bathrooms with exhaust fans, must be vented to the outside in order to prevent odors and moist air from escaping into the interior of the structure. Presently, if building codes permit, construction tradesmen may run vent exhaust fans hoses to the attic spaces, letting the fans exhaust air into the attic. Alternatively, where venting to the outside is required, tradesmen may cut an opening through the roof and install individual flashing, thereby damaging the structural integrity of the roof. Typically, each venting hose requires its own opening. A tradesman may have to cut several holes in the roof of a building in order to properly vent the bathrooms. Each opening presents the possibility of a future leak in the roof around the flashing, which may allow water and moisture to enter the building, with toxic mold a possible result. Finally, the appearance of numerous flashings in a roof can be quite unattractive.
Even more problematic is the possibility that a tradesman may cross-connect bathroom exhaust vents and plumbing drain waste vent systems, even though building codes require separate venting. If that is done, methane gas may enter the bathroom when the exhaust fan is not running.
The present invention enables tradesmen to utilize pre-existing ventilation systems in order to vent bathrooms with exhaust vent fans, without penetrating the roof.
Currently, several different ventilation systems are used to remove heat from the attic of a building. Turbine ventilators, roof ventilators, ridge ventilators, and hip ventilators work well because they are mounted on the roof above the attic, often near or at the highest point of a building. The present invention provides an apparatus to which one or more bathroom exhaust vent fan hoses can be attached in order to remove odors and moist air from the rooms being ventilated. The vent apparatus of the present invention works in concert with the bathroom exhaust vent fans, which have dampers that close when the exhaust fans are not running, and open when the fans are activated, causing the odors and moist air to flow up and out of the room being vented, through the bathroom exhaust vent fan hose, and into the vent apparatus of the present invention. The vent apparatus can be mounted under any of the several presently-used roof ventilators, allowing odors and moist air to exhaust out of the room being ventilated, through the vent apparatus, and out the roof ventilator. Using the vent apparatus obviates the need to cut additional holes in the roof to vent the exhaust from bathroom exhaust fans. No modifications must be made, either to the roof or to the ventilators.
The vent apparatus of the present invention is typically made, using the process of injection molding, from a tough, rigid plastic such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). The vent apparatus, molded in one piece, is essentially rectangular in shape, with two side panels, two end panels, and a bottom, with mounting ears either on the top portion of the two side panels, or protruding from slots in the ends, depending on the type of attic ventilator with which it is utilized. The vent apparatus is formed with one or more openings (each approximately 3xe2x80x3 in diameter) in the bottom side, each with a protruding stub to which can be attached the hose from the bathroom exhaust fan being vented, using duct tape or plastic bands designed for that purpose. Covers are placed into unused openings in the vent apparatus; the covers are removable for later use. When the apparatus will be used with a ridge ventilator or a hip ventilator, each end has a slot formed therein, which is fitted around the ridge rafter or hip rafter. A tradesman mounts the vent apparatus around the ridge rafter or hip rafter, directly under the ridge ventilator or hip ventilator. Mounting ears on the two ends are nailed to the ridge rafter or hip rafter.
Finally, an alternate embodiment is disclosed for mounting the apparatus under a turbine ventilator or a roof ventilator. Such a vent apparatus has no slots in the end panels; it has mounting ears on the top edges of the sides in order to mount it to the decking under the turbine ventilator or roof ventilator being utilized.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for ventilating bathroom areas, without making additional holes in a roof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for consolidating several bathroom exhaust vents and venting them out of the roof at one location.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a vent apparatus that can be used with the presently existing roof ventilator systems, with no modifications to the roof ventilator or to the roof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a vent apparatus which is easy to fabricate and to install.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a vent apparatus which functions with code-approved materials.